Stories about Arts & Culture from December, 2012
Japan's Kanji of the Year 2012
The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation has announced the kanji of the year 2012 is gold (金) on December 12, 2012. How do netizens conceive this announcement and how do they look back this year?
From Indigenous Protests to Online Preaching, Portuguese Language Countries in 2012
As the last day of the calendar approaches, we select a few glimpses of citizen media from the action and imagination of the Portuguese-speaking online world.
“Cousins” from São Tomé and Príncipe Unite the Diaspora Through Online Radio
They say that "We Are All Cousins" and they make use of online tools and social media to unite virtually the people of São Tomé and Príncipe in the diaspora and spread around the world. Global Voices spoke to Guedes Machado Medeiros, general coordinator of the informal group "Somos Todos Primos", which began as a blog and quickly became a community online radio station.
State of Freedom of Speech in Tunisia in 2012
In 2012, the battle for freedom of expression continued in Tunisia. Though the internet remained uncensored, free speech advocates voiced concerns over the use of religion as a pretext to curb free speech. Meanwhile, a legal void has characterized the Tunisian media landscape as the government continues to ignore a new press law that protects journalists and limits government interference in media.
New GV e-book: African Voices of Hope and Change
"African Voices of Hope and Change," gives you an intimate perspective into the stories and people of Africa's Sub-Saharan region, through our best English-language posts from 2012 - a perfect gift to salute the new year.
Japan's Independent Film Theaters are Disappearing
One after the other, independent movie theaters are going out of business in Japan. The wave of closing theaters has changed Tokyo's street scenes, people who gathered and spent their time at these old theaters, have lost their place.
They Murder Trees in Egypt
Michael Hanna, an Egyptian blogger and pharmacist, mourns the murder of trees, as well as demolishing antique villas in Heliopolis suburb in Cairo. Find out what happened to what is perhaps the oldest palm tree in the area.
MENA: Acclaimed Authors’ Favorites of 2012
M. Lynx Qualey, blogger, who is interested in Arab and Arabic literature, wrote a series of posts introducing acclaimed Arab poets, novelists, and short-story writers’ favorite Arab reads of 2012....
Looking Back at 2012 in South Asia – Part II
Pakistan's dismal human rights record just gets worse, India's rising rape rates have sent the society into a flux, Bangladesh rejected Myanmar's Rohingya refugees, the regions relatively stable country - Maldives- saw a spiraling political crisis, and protests in post-war Sri Lanka against price hikes were met with police brutality. It has been a rough year in South Asia. And we have been covering the bad and the good all year at Global Voices. Here are some highlights from this years coverage.
The Best 12 of 2012
The music blog Puerto Rico Indie offers its traditional summary of the best albums of the year in Puerto Rico. Enjoy!
Tocqueville French Revolution Classic on China's Bestsellers List
Thanks to China's top officials, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville’s "The Old Regime and the Revolution”, a 19th-century classic about the French revolution, has become a best seller in China.
A Comic Book Superhero With a Kyrgyz Flavour
Kyrgyz superhero fans will soon have comic books and cartoon films featuring a 'national' fictional character, Barsbek. But some netizens argue that the Central Asian superhero looks too much like Spider-Man.
South Korea: X-Mas Mass-Scale Speed-Dating
The first-ever mass speed-dating on the Christmas Eve in South Korea turns out to be a complete failure where 90% of participants were male. Reportedly over 20,000 people signed up and...
From Gangnam Style to Jailed Tweeter: Korea in 2012
Starting from North Korean leadership change, to Gangnam Style spreading over the world and finally the presidential election in December, 2012 has been a dramatic year in South Korea. Here are the top seven Korean stories of the year, which created major social media buzz.
Christmas Decorations around Lebanon
Cloud of Lace posts beautiful images of the Christmas decorations from various cities in Lebanon during this year's (2012) celebrations.
China’s hottest “styles” of 2012
Because of the Korean pop hit “Gangnam Style”, the English word “style” has been popularized in China in 2012. On Dec 24,a local newspaper published a special round-up of the...
Macedonia: Nude Art Twitter Calendar for Charity
Twelve Macedonian women – regular Twitter users – took part in a humanitarian project organized by @IlinaBookbox, two photographers and one designer via the hashtag #ТвитерКалендар (Macedonian for ‘Twitter Calendar’)....
Art Quake in Kerala – The Kochi-Muziris Biennale
A three month long international exhibition of contemporary art is being held in Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala. Keralites in Social Media are involved in discussions about the pros and cons including the controversy surrounding the allocation of state funds for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Bauls – Worshiping The Great God In Man
Bauliana posts a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Bauls, a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal. Although current day Bauls are very small in numbers, their influence in...
Tajiks and Uzbeks Disagree on Birthplace of Poet
The dispute over the birthplace of the Poet Rudaki [whom both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan claim "as one of their own"] is heating up and may soon lead to wine-throwing and fist-fights...
